September 28: Day 1, Ushuaia to Tolhuin

The internet said the temperature range for Ushuaia in October is 5-15, so I did not have a good moment when I checked the weather forecast last night and found it was -4 to +4 degrees. Yesterday was a lovely sunny day, a bit cold, but I'd be happy to cycle in it. This morning there had been snow overnight - normally great news, but not today - there was a full canopy of dark snow-filled clouds outside, and light snowfall which normally would be charming but now was foreboding. The forecast didn't have snow, and it didn't think it was snowing now. If it's too optimistic about the snow, what else might be worse than predicted? It's not a good morning.

The sun would occasionally break through and it was lovely and hopeful, and then it'd go behind a cloud and the world turned back into a grey snowy tundra into which only experienced, well-equipped teams should dare go. Should I stay in Ushuaia another day? Well, the forecast for Sunday is about the same so this line of thinking might mean I stay here for a week.

I'm normally up for a bit of an adventure but charging 60km up an icy mountain pass into a blizzard is how you end up in the newspaper, in an article written to remind people about how to stay safe in the winter: "The cyclist did not have a survival suit, nor any deep-winter training, nor a 4x4 ... he was dressed in some fashionable shirts which are probably very In for Amsterdam winters, but around here we prefer 300g insulation with a neoprene outer for when we want to go check the mailbox. And a bicycle! It didn't have tracks, let along snow chains; no insulated passenger cell. That's not how you go up mountains..."

But I had packed some appropriate cold-weather clothing in case it got unexpectedly cold. So I decided to get going, and turn around if it was getting stupid or I wasn't making enough progress.

First stop was a bakery to get lunch - but they also had some excellent pastries, so I picked up something made out of chocolate that probably wouldn't be harmed by being in a pannier.

The route efficiently avoided the main road, but this sometimes took me up some unreasonably steep hills. It took me through some suburbs, there's a lot of dogs around here who weren't worried about the cold and were outside doing their thing. Passed a guy washing his car. I’d like to remind you it was near-zero and snowy.

Back on the main road, but there's a bikepath! It's covered in snow but I'm happy to use it. It finishes at a big roundabout which leads to the main road out of town, and there I spot a runner coming the other way. She was a middle-aged lady, and was wearing a suit of some kind, only face and hands exposed, but she was happily jogging down the road in this weather so I figured perhaps I was overestimating the danger a bit.

From left to right: trying to take timer photos in the snow while in shorts is a bad idea, never again. The snowy streets of Ushuaia. A good bakery makes everything better. Photographic proof of the cycle lane! You are now leaving Ushuaia.

This was the edge of town: keep going or bail? The road ahead was wide with a spacious shoulder and there was regular traffic so if something did go stupidly wrong I could flag someone down. Onwards.

I was going carefully. The shoulder had a little bit of snow on it so I went slow just in case. All good so far, the surface is not slippery, I'm not cold - getting a bit sweaty, even. Traffic is regular and is likewise going slowly and carefully. There's buildings and businesses going by occasionally, it's not the wilderness.

The traffic thins out and I'm keen to get on the road so I can raise the pace; I figure if by midday I haven't got to the midpoint/high point of the ride I should turn back. So I pop up onto the road when I can, but go back on the shoulder when cars come past. Looking good, until go to I rejoin the road because there's no traffic, but misjudge the raised edge of the road, can't get the front wheel up and drop the bike. I was going pretty slow so it was not very kinetic, but still sprawled on the road and took a solid thump on the hip. Was the bike OK? All the electronics were latched on so tightly they were unmoved, but my panniers had squelched to one side and needed to be readjusted. No broken bones. No sprains. No gear problems. Did anyone see? No... So I kept going. But I'm going to be nervous about road edges for a while.

From left to right: a sensible bicycle route. Having fun but I do need to take my sunglasses off in photos. This is the moment the sun started to come out, it was a lot more uplifting than it might look. The unveil to a range of spectacular mountains; the first time was so good I took a photo but after that they happen so frequently you lose interest a bit.

After a while traffic was so infrequent I could stay on the road and make up some proper time. There's only one road through the area, so it connects ski resorts, cafes, a husky park, and other tourist attractions. There's mountains on all sides, and photos can't do it justice ,of course! The sky would sometimes be fully cloudy and sometimes almost clear, but it steadily got better. I have a recollection of it being fully overcast, and getting snowed on, while pushing up a steep section - then a police car came past the other way. They did not stop and tell me I should get back on my meds, which I'm going to take as a vote of confidence thanks. They did a polite beep as they passed and I waved back.

Speaking of which, polite beeps are a thing. Sometimes as a car comes it'll do a few quiet beeps and I politely wave and smile back. Trucks too! One time when the road was coming to a blind rise I pulled onto the shoulder to let a truck past and he was so grateful he did a four-bar honk and flashed his lights as he went past.

I had the chocolate around 12 just a few kilometers short of the midpoint, I'm feeling pretty good and making good pace and was so warm I took off the thermal underlayer. The sun is out all the time, the snow is clean and white, I'm able to use the road most of the time. It's still chilly; by the time I finished eating I was starting to get cold - time to get moving or put on more layers.

Reached the pass not long after that: the land behind was covered in snow, but everything on the far side of the mountains was snow-free and had a huge lake and trees everywhere and looked like the promised land. I was so impressed I took some photos (that won't do it justice) and happily got onto a consistent downhill that probably goes for about thirty kilometers. It was so long and I needed to pedal so little I started to get cold...

From left to right: More mountains and frozen beard. Chocolate break was so good I took a photo. The promised land, but seen through a dirty lens. And the ride downhill.

After that it was more like what I was expecting when planning the trip. Chilly but nowhere close to zero, no snow or ice, a bit of wind. And as an unexpected bonus, it was flat! I happily wound it out into the highest gear and burned down some kilometers. Sadly that also means it was quite uneventful so there's no news for the rest of the day. (Well, I stopped once to get a tea but got a coffee. That's not my poor Spanish, the translation for "tea" is "té". So that one's not on me.)

I'm staying in Tolhuin which reminds me of a town from and old Western: dirt roads, no sidewalks, wooden houses made from whatever material was available. Also it looked a bit sus. But I'm staying in the Enriqueta B&B which is cheerful and friendly and has cats and it's great. My bike was horribly dusty, I've cleaned it up somewhat, and relubed the chain. Hopefully it was the snow, and won't be this bad tomorrow.

The bruise is a good one, it's going to be an exciting color tomorrow. Ouch.